Connector for bed rails



Nov. 4, 1941. A. zlMTBAuM 2,261,320

CONNECTOR FOR BED RAILS Filed July 10, 1940 Patented Nov. 4, 1941 'r orifice ooNNEoToa ron BED RAILS Arthur Zimtbaum, New York, N. Y. Application July'lo, 1940, serial No. 344,639l Claims. (Cl. 55298) I'his invention relates to connectors for bed rails, and has for its primary object the provision of a device by which the side rails of a bedstead or' other article Vof furniture can be iirmly, yet detachably, secured to the head and foot of the bedstead. Y,At the present time, the side rails of a bed are usually provided at their ends with hooks which fit into slots in the head and foot posts of the bed and engage over` pins. Often, and particularly after` the bed has beenV in use for a time, the `engagement between the hooks and4 pins becomes relatively loose with the result that the bed becomes insecure. In other instances the hooks become wedged between the pins and. it isdiilcultto free them. The main object therefore, of the present invention, lis to provide a connection means by which a rm and secure aiixrnent of the side rails to` the head and foot is had; by which the deficiencies of present-day connectors are overcome, and by which Various advantages, apparent to those skilled in the art, will be secured.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof, Fig. 1 is a sectional view through an end postof a bedstead, showing a portion of a side rail and the-improved connector; Fig. 2 is asectional view on the line 21-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 3 is a side view, with parts in section, of a modied structure.

With reference to the structure shown in Figs. l and 2, one of the side rails of the bed is shown at 5, the saine being provided at each or" its ends with a recess 6. Located in each of said recesses is the hook-plate 'I pivoted near its upper end on the pin 8 extending transversely of the recess. The portion H of the hook-plate projects beyond the end of the side rail and is formed with the notches B and Il! adapted to engage over the pins l2 extending transversely of the slot I3 formed in the post I4 at the head or foot of the bed.

The hook plate 'I is adapted to have a limited pivotal movement, the extent of such movement being determined by the slot Ma formed in the plate and in which the pin i5, extending transversely of the recess 6, is located.

At its lower end, the hook-plate l is pivotally attached at I6 to an internally-threaded socket I8 which receives the threaded end I8EL of an adjusting rod I 9. Said rod I9 is guided through a lug 20 forming an angular extension of a plate 22 secured to the underside of the bed rail 5 by the screws 23 or other equivalent fastening means. The rod I9 isprovided at its free end witlrthe head 2| in abutment with the guide 20, said head including an eye 2| which can be engaged by the fingers or by a suitable tool and turned to adjust the rod and swingthe hookplate' in a direction to or from the guide2i).

Briey, the operation of the device is as follows; i

With the adjusting rod I9 loosened to such an extent as to permit easy engagement of the notches 9 and IU with the pins, the hook plate 'I has its end portion II inserted into the slot I3 and engaged over the pins I2. been done, the head or eye 2l of adjusting screw I9 is rotated to thereby swing the hook plate clockwisely, as viewed in'Fig. 1, on its pivot pin 8 and causes the notches 9 and lo to be drawn down firmly over the' pins I2. `Since the hookplate 'I is angularly adjustable in the manner explained, it will be clear that any looseness between the side rails andthe ends of the bed may be easily taken up and a secure and rm connection between vthe side vrails and the ends of the bed always maintained, even after the bed has been in use for a long period of time.

In-the embodiment of the invention disclosed in Fig. 3, the lower end of the hook-plate 'I is pivotally attached at 24 to an arm 25 constituting a part of a plate 26 which is slotted at 2l.v A pin 28, extending through the slot 21 attaches the plate 26 and attached arm 25 to the bottom of the side rail 5, but permits longitudinal movement of said plate and arm to an extent permitted by the pin 28 in the slot 2. Near one of its ends, the plate 26 is provided with a stamped-out tongue 29 which engages the end of a coil spring 30 having its opposite end attached to a similar tongue 3l formed on a pivoted locking lever 32. Lever 32 is pivoted at 33 to lug 34 xedly secured to the bottom edge of the side rail 5.

In this embodiment of the invention, the pivoted locking lever 32 is swung forwardly or in a direction toward the hook-plate 1, to a position substantially as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, at which time the tension of the coil spring 33 is released. The hook plate 'I is then engaged with the pins I2, and then the locking lever is swung back to its former position, or flat against the bottom edge of the bed rail, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3. This places the spring 30 under tension, and holds it so, since at this time the spring is swung beyond its center line of pull, and the hook plate is accordingly maintained under tension so that its notches are firmly en- When this has gaged with the pins I2 and the side rails of the bed thus held solidly against thehead and foot thereof.

It will be noted that the voperating means for the connector is so located and disposed below the bottom of the side rails that it is concealed thereby; that no laterally projecting parts are employed to extend from the faces of the side rails, and that through the use of the improved structure the parts of the bed may be constantly held iirmly together without wobble or shakiness through long years of usage.

What I claim is:

l. A device of the character described comprising, a bed post provided with a slot, pins located in said slot, a side rail having a recess in its end, a hook plate pivoted near its upper end in said recess, a pin extending transversely of said recess, the hook plate having a slot through which said pin extends and which limits the eX- tent of a pivotal movement of the hook plate, a notched end portion provided on the hook plate and extending out of the recess for entry into the slot in the bedpost for engagement with the pins therein, a threadedsocket member pivotally attached to the lower end of the hook plate below the pivot, a threaded adjusting rod having an end received in said socket member, a guide secured to the side rail and in which` the adjusting rod is rotatively mounted, and means by which the adjusting rod may be manually actuated to swing the hook plate either to or from the pins in the bedpost slot.

2. A device of the character described comprising, a bedpost provided with a slot, pins in said slot and extending transversely of the same, a side rail having a recess in its end, a hook plate pivotally mounted in said recess, said hook plate being provided with a notched end portion for entry into the slot to engage over the pins therein, a slidable member secured to the side rail, a pivotal connection between said slidable member and the hook plate, a lever pivotally attached to the side rail, a spring extending between the lever and slidable member, said spring being positioned to be held under tension when the lever is located adjacent to the side rail and released from tension when said lever is swung away from said side rail,

3. A device of the character described comprising, a bedpost provided with a slot, pins located in and extending transversely of the slot, a side rail having a recess in its end, a, hook plate pivotally mounted in said recess and provided with parts adapted to extend into said slot and engage over the pins therein, a link member pivotally connected to the hook plate and mounted on the side rail for pivotally shifting the hook plate on its pivot to cause said plate to be swung on its pivot and moved pivotally to or from the pins, said link member being adjustable longitudinally of the side rail, and means supported by the side rail for adjusting said link member.

4. A device of the character described comprising, a bedpost provided with a slot, pins located in and extending transversely of the slot,

` a side rail having a recess in its end, a hook plate pivotally mounted in said recess and having a notched portion protruding out of the same for entry into the slot to engage with the pins therein, a threaded member at the bottom of the side rail, means secured to the side rail for guiding the threaded member, said threaded member I being pivotally attached to the hook plate and adjustable in length for pivotally shifting the hook plate on its pivot to or from the pins engaged by said hook plate, and means for limiting the pivotal movement of the hook plate.

5. A device of the character described comprising, a bedpost provided with a slot, pins located in and extending transversely of the slot, a side rail having a recess in its end, a hook plate pivotally mounted in said recess and having a l notched portion protruding out of the same for entry into the slot to engage with the pins therein, a threaded member pivotally attached at the lower end of the hook plate and below the pivot of said plate, a guide member secured to the lower edge of the side rail and through which said threaded member extends, said threaded member being adjustable in length for pivotally shifting the hook plate on its pivot to or`frorn the pins engaged by said hook plate, and a healon said threaded member by which the same may be rotatively adjusted to increase or decrease its eiective length to thereby shift the hook plate either to or from the pins engaged by it.

ARTHUR ZIMTBAUM. 

